March madness

👋 Good morning, and welcome to (or welcome back to) VTJ’s Sunday Briefing: your weekly digest of the city’s innovation news, deals, insights, and more.

Our first-ever co-working day was packed! Thank you to everyone who ditched their usual office setup to join us and make it as impactful as it was. For those of you who asked: we will be hosting another one. Look out for details on when and where in our newsletters or via VancouverTechEvents.com

Now onto today’s briefing. It’s 1075 words: a 4.5-min. read.

-Lisa

🗞️ FROM VTJ

See more stories at VanTechJournal.com 

Did someone send this to you? Subscribe for free and stay connected to Vancouver’s innovation community.

SPONSORED BY FASKEN

Navigating Fintech’s Regulatory Maze with Ease

Fasken understands how the industry is evolving and adapting to change. With a proven track record, FinTech innovators seek our expert guidance. Our team is your partner in navigating the intricate realm of financial services and emerging tech. Explore innovative solutions and embrace the future of FinTech with Fasken. Your success is our mission. 

🤝 FUNDING & DEALS

• Cognito, the B.C.-based integrated mental health platform offering specialized programs for anxiety, depression, insomnia, and ADHD, raised $2 million in seed funding to scale across Canada.

• Ontraccr raises $1.2 million in seed funding to transform construction management tech.

• Tenomix, a medtech company and alumni of UBC’s Venture Founder program, raised $2 million in seed funding to develop a robotics system for improving the accuracy of colon cancer staging.

• Growclass, the online growth marketing course, received $1.7 million in funding through the national talent platform, Upskill Canada, to train 500 students from underrepresented communities by March 2025.

• LyfeMD, Roga, Granularity, all women-led startups, collectively awarded CAD $230,000 at the Women Innovation Summit.

• Ripple Ventures is looking to work with and invest between $50K-$100K in underrepresented students, dropouts, or recent graduate founders building B2B software.

Get the latest funding and deals announcements and stories curated in our Members-only Morning Report.

SPONSORED BY INBOX BOOTHS

Welcome to your focus zone

Are you tired of looking for meeting rooms or places to take calls at work? Is the open-concept office interrupting your workflow?

It’s time to check out soundproof booths and meeting rooms from Inbox Booths. A dedicated room to connect with your team or somewhere you won’t be interrupted.

🗞️ IN OTHER NEWS

• TikTok is hiring for 20+ jobs in Vancouver right now.

• Surrey’s SkyAcres has been accepted into Google’s women founders accelerator cohort.

• Miguel Testa, former VP of engineering at Vial, announced the launch of Just Vent, an AI chatbot that lets you share frustrations without judgement and helps to reframe your situation for comfort.

• Everything Electric Canada, the world’s top home energy and EV show, returns to Vancouver this September.

SPONSORED BY TALL TREE INTEGRATED HEALTH

What's Your Max?

Measure your cardiovascular fitness level and optimize your training with a VO2 Max test. Your VO2 Max is the maximum volume of oxygen your body is able to use while exercising as hard as you can. It’s the best metric to improve if you want to live longer. Now available at Tall Tree Health.

💡 IDEAS & INSIGHTS

• Maninder Dhaliwal, CEO of VC firm Lions Gate International, shared with us key takeaways and reflections from Web Summit Qatar, including winning traits of early-stage founders and how to perfect your pitch.

• Kris Krug, Vancouver AI Community Meetup organizer, gave us a rundown of what’s happening at SXSW as a Vancouver delegate — diving into exhibitors driving AI advancements.

• Kookai Chaimahawong, executive director for the Centre for Climate and Business Solutions at UBC, spoke at Innovate BC’s executive-in-residence (EIR) summit to share the fundamentals of ESG frameworks for startups.

• Alain Rivère, VP of real estate and investment firm CBRE, shared client and clean energy startup, Portable Electric, journey to growing from a single unit to two locations — totalling 40,000 square feet.

• Looking for a trusted recruitment partner in 2024? Starboard Recruitment works with Vancouver's top tech companies/startups, hiring high quality talent and providing flexible solutions that best suit your needs today.*

*Sponsored listing

👀 CAN’T MISS

Tues, March 12 | Vancouver Tech Morning Coffee: Come chat and meet new people in our weekly meetup series.

• Register

Tues, March 12 | #VTJTalks: Can B.C. healthcare “move fast and break things” or is there a better way to innovate? Join Dr. Steve Reynolds and Loki Jorgenson at this event about pulling innovations into the healthcare system.

• Tickets (limited tickets remain)

Tues, March 19 | Vancouver Tech Community: Whether you're a startup founder, tech wizard, student or recent grad, this gathering is the perfect opportunity to connect with the community and meet potential investors.

• Register

Wed, March 20 | #VTJTalks: Demystifying tech in Calgary. What’s causing Calgary’s tech boom and why should Vancouverites care? Join us for a candid dialogue about what’s driving the momentum. Hear industry leaders bust myths about Calgary’s diverse economy, dive into opportunities and challenges that lay ahead and learn how you can be part of it.

• Register

VTJ Members get early access and discounts to all our events. Don’t miss out.

👋 YOUR COMMUNITY

🗣 Online

Join 1,000+ people in our VTJ Slack and connect with others in the community. Reply back if you need an invite!

🤝 At the office

Job hunting? See 70+ roles open right now on VancouverTechJobs.com 

Hiring? Post your job today.

🗓️ In real life

See our local community calendar at VancouverTechEvents.com.

That’s it!

Thanks for stopping in today. If you found something useful, please forward this newsletter to someone in the community who should subscribe.

And before you go, let us know: